Eric M. Brayton, 39, of Homer, and Kenneth C. Sasser, 46, who lived at the Cortland Motel (Photo: Cortland County Sheriff's Office)
CORTLANDVILLE, N.Y. — Two men were arrested Wednesday after police found an active meth lab in a room at the Cortland Motel, the sheriff's office announced Thursday morning.
At about 9:17 p.m., deputies from the Cortland County Sheriff's Office were called to the Cortland Motel on Route 11 for a chemical smell coming from one of the rooms.
When officers arrived they found two men were in the process of manufacturing methamphetamine, authorities said. Both men were removed from the motel room and officers requested the Cortlandville Fire Department and additional patrol units to evacuate other rooms in the motel.
The sheriff's office contacted personnel from the New York State Police Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team to assist with the collection of evidence and the handling and removal of hazardous waste.
Tenants at the motel who were in the general area of the hazardous condition were advised that they would need to be relocated on a temporary basis until the scene could be cleaned up. The Cortland County Department of Social Services was then called to the scene to help relocate the residents to another motel in the Cortland area.
After searching the motel room where the meth was being produced, police found several fluid ounces of methamphetamine oil, lab equipment, drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine.
Police charged Eric M. Brayton, 39, of Homer, and Kenneth C. Sasser, 46, who lived at the motel, with felony criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine, also a felony.
The investigation is continuing and additional charges are possible, the sheriff's office said.
If anyone has any information regarding this incident they are asked to contact Lt. Todd Caufield of the Cortland County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 607-758-6151.
